06 November 2018

Following reports about a police officer who raped the 15-year-old daughter of detained drug pushers in exchange for their freedom, the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) said it had documented 13 cases of abuse committed by policemen from January 2017 to July 2018.

These comprise eight cases of rape, three cases of acts of lasciviousness, one case of harassment, and one case of physical assault, the group said.

“We think [the] war on drugs becomes an excuse for sexual abuse. We documented that [out of the 13] there were seven cases wherein they arrested suspected drug addicts or during a drug operations wherein a sexual abuse took place,” said Jojo Guan, CRW executive director.

Guan added that the abuses were either committed on innocent individuals during a drug operation or the victim was tagged as a drug suspect.

Police Officer 1 Edgardo Valencia had earlier told National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Guillermo Eleazar that raping children of suspected drug pushers was not new to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Hindi na bago sa ating operatiba yung ganun (this is not new among our operatives),” Valencia told Eleazar after he was taken to the Manila Police District (MPD) Station 4 in Sampaloc, Manila.

Reports said that the suspect allegedly brought the girl to a motel in Sta. Mesa and raped her in exchange for the freedom of her parents who were previously arrested on drug charges.

Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago said in a statement that such treatment of the poor, women, and children was “downright deplorable” but “not surprising” and cited the recent controversy at the PNP Academy where three cadets allegedly ordered lower classmen to perform oral sex as punishment for violations they had committed.

“It is even more appalling that instead of reproach, these acts elicit praise from our dear President Duterte,” she said.

Gabriela echoed this statement and said that Duterte’s “misogyny and perverted exhortations have nurtured the culture of rape and impunity that now gnaws on what is left of the PNP’s credibility.”

“The youth and the people demand for accountability from the government, or else, it is they who will hold Duterte and his men accountable and render justice on them,” Elago said.

“We will push for an independent investigation into these cases of abuse committed by PNP officers, as we cannot rely on the rotten institution to clean its ranks,” Gabriela added.